Two-and-a half months of surgery

Well, it seems like two-and-a half months of surgery. It moved along amazingly fast once the diagnosis was cancer, which was late August. But then, delay after delay; more findings; infection.

My doctor recommended a surgeon, I met with him and was supposed to go "under the knife" the next week. Well,not much has gone according to schedule with my cancer. I guess disease has its own time schedule and there's no hurrying it. (Sorry if this blog isn't formatting correctly on the line -- somehow I turned off its word-wrap and can't figure out how to get it back on, so I'm putting in hard CR.)

The MRI showed "something" in the other breast. (FYI, the cancer is in the left breast). So, the surgeon needs to clarify what that is before he goes in. More mammograms, more ultrasound. No biopsy, but they decide it isn't cancer, just thicker tissue. (Probably some term for it, but I've forgotten that one.)

So, schedule for the following week. Except that I get a call from the Census (with whom I have been making ends meet whenever they have work, which is every couple months). "We'd like to hire you back for a week of training and a couple weeks of work, except you must attend a full time training next week. You have surgery scheduled? Well, sorry, we'll call you again in January." ACCKKKK!! OK, if they can postpone the surgery, so can I.

Finally got into surgery September 29th. They get the cancer and also take out a "sentinel lymph node." Another new thing to learn: there are lymph nodes all over your body, draining fluids. Where do those fluids come from, I'm still not too sure about that. As a little kid I thought my body was like a tank full of blood sloshing around in there. Then I learned that was silly, blood is only in veins and arteries, there is no fluid sloshing around in you. Well, now it turns out there is. Sort of. So, anyway, the sentinel node is the one which primarily drains the area of the cancer. If the cancer has moved out (I'm not sure if this is "metastasized" or if that scary word means something more ominous like having the cancer move in a big way into bad places like organs), then it would first show up in that node.

Initial announcement, delivered right as I come out of anesthesia, was that the node was clear -- no cancer! Hurrah! But then they went back to do a finer analysis, and oh dear! there was some cancer in there. Not good -- need to immediately go back in and take ("harvest" is the word they used. Really.) a bunch more lymph nodes and check them for cancer. "Tomorrow, can you be here at 6am?" (It's already 4pm and I have to arrange for my kids to get to school and get home, for someone to cover for me at work the following day, someone to take me to surgery and pick me up afterwards, yadda, yadda. I guess doctor's can't think about that, but being a single mom and doing cancer really don't go together well. I don't recommend it.)

OK, second surgery on Oct 6. Bastard doctor (not really, I do like him and trust him) says "No, this won't be much worse than the lumpectomy surgery." Liar! They take a piece of flesh the size of a poptart out from under my arm! (I wonder if it was a "pound of flesh"???) Nerves are damaged, muscles are out of whack, it's much more painful and tiring. People keep thinking I'm the iron maiden, but really I do seem to recover pretty quickly from surgery. I was up and around the next day on the cancer removal, but on this one I was shaky after doing a little computer work for an hour. And the worst part of all these weeks is that I am indeed working the Census, and only get paid when I work, and there's a limited supply of work -- get it while it lasts. So, I'm off driving 250 miles and working 10 hours two days later. Ouch!

Done with surgery? Nope. An infection sets in. Unfortunately not uncommon, probably not brought on by any thing I did (although of course I worry that by overdoing I have brought this on myself). The infection makes me sicker and more tired than anything so far. My breast looks like a lobster and is swollen and sore. (OK, you guys, you're thinking "Gads. MaryAnne with a swollen breast. Is there room in the universe for such a thing?" Shame on you!) I wake up in the middle of the night in pain. Antibiotics do not seem to be making any difference. The doctor drains the lower part of the breast and adds an antifungal to the antibiotic. ("Anti-FUNGAL"?? Ewwh, gross!"). Some relief, but still not getting better. The doctor reopens the breast incision and drains a bunch of yucky stuff. Again, some relief but still not getting better.

Finally, I have to go back in for "real" surgery, defined by me as using anesthesia, November 5. That's last week at the time of this writing. So, I'm recovering. It does feel much better. I can't really see it due to the swaddling of bandages. We're not moving ahead on the chemo treatments until I am fully healed, the earliest could be after Thanksgiving. But I am really hoping for no more surgeries. I've had at least 2 doctors appts a week since August, 4 major and minor surgeries, at least 4 days of nothing-but-recovery from those. Some weeks I had 5 doctors appts -- some cancelled and others made the same day! So, the break will be nice. Assuming this infection has really been beaten.